Alex DeBrincat aims to be more than just a goal scorer, aspiring to be a versatile player, which means adding assists and even engaging in the occasional fight.
“A long way to go but trying to become a more complete player, not just a shooter. Just keep working on it,” DeBrincat said.
DeBrincat and Patrick Kane each tallied a goal and an assist, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night, marking their fourth straight win.
DeBrincat set up Seth Jones’ goal in the first period, scored early in the second, and later engaged in a third-period fight with Seattle’s Yanni Gourde after an unnecessary hit on Kane.
“He punched me in the head behind the net and then went after (Kane) and cross-checked him,” DeBrincat said. “You go after our best player; we can’t let that happen. I don’t like fighting but will when I need to.”
Jones extended his points streak to seven games with his second goal of the season, and Jake McCabe added an empty-netter to seal the win for Chicago. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves, including 16 in the second period.
While the Blackhawks were pleased with their four-game win streak, they were frustrated by the number of chances they allowed Seattle after taking a 2-0 lead.
“You see a lot of times we’re just kind of throwing it away and whether it gets out (of the zone) or not it puts us in a tough position,” Kane said.
Jared McCann and Yanni Gourde scored in the third period for Seattle, with Philipp Grubauer making 15 saves. The Kraken have now lost five straight and seven of their last eight games.
“The second and third were excellent and tremendous efforts on our part,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “As you look at it, that’s likely going to be the push we need through three periods to get ourselves headed in the right direction.”
Kane extended Chicago’s lead to 3-0 with a wrist shot past Grubauer at 5:36 of the third period during an odd-man rush.
McCann scored on the power play with 5:45 left, and Gourde added another goal with 1:49 remaining after Seattle pulled Grubauer, narrowing the score to 3-2. However, they couldn’t find the equalizer.
“There’s no other way to put it; it’s frustrating, and we need to clean it up,” McCann said.
Jones scored his second goal of the season off a 3-on-2 rush. The play started with a cross-ice pass from Kane to DeBrincat, leaving Jones unmarked at the back post. This marked Jones’ 67th career regular-season goal, bringing his career points total to 300. He has two goals and five assists during his points streak.
Seattle has conceded the first goal in 10 of their 16 games this season, including five of their last seven losses.
DeBrincat doubled Chicago’s lead early in the second period, taking an outlet pass from Kirby Dach and using his speed to fend off Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak before flipping the puck over Grubauer’s shoulder for his ninth goal of the season.
Despite dominating chances in the second period, Seattle couldn’t beat Fleury, who made several key saves, including a sprawling stop on Gourde. Fleury also denied McCann and Calle Jarnkrok, while Jeremy Lauzon hit the post late in the period.
“It’s much more fun to play hockey right now, but we dug ourselves a big hole. It’s still a long way to go,” Fleury said.
Game notes
The Blackhawks activated Caleb Jones from long-term injury reserve, and he played 9:53. Adam Gaudette was scratched, and Chicago placed Tyler Johnson (neck soreness) on long-term injury reserve; he can’t return until after Sunday’s game at Calgary. Chicago added Rob Cookson as an assistant coach and named Marc Crawford associate coach under interim head coach Derek King. Grubauer made his 200th career start, and McCann has seven points in his past seven games.
UP NEXT
- Blackhawks: At Edmonton on Saturday.
- Kraken: Host Colorado on Friday.
